How I studied kanji

Okay, so it’s probably not going to be my most interesting post ever, but today I’m going to share my method for learning kanji.

Kanji is the most common stumbling block for Japanese learners. It’s easy to see why: there are 1,945 Joyo kanji, hundreds more non-Joyo kanji that are still very commonly used, and yet hundreds more kanji that are used in people’s names. And each of these intricate little characters has a specific order in which the strokes must be written, probably has multiple readings, might have multiple meanings, and can be mixed and matched with many other kanji to create compound words (熟語 : jukugo).

Basically, there is a reason that Japanese students are still studying kanji even in high school, and that reason is that kanji are as difficult as they are many.

There are many different ways to go about it, but I decided to learn kanji the old fashioned way: relentless and unforgiving old-school rote memorization. Just pen and paper, sweat and blood, with a focus on efficient reviewing.

Why the hard way? There was just too much information to absorb any other way than to sit down and pound each character one by one into my brain. At least, not any way that was possible in the short time frame that I gave myself (two years from start to finish). Brute force was just the best tool for the job.

I believe strongly in the power and effectiveness of rote memorization for learning kanji, but I’ve taken care to write this article as an account of my own successful strategy and not as a “how to” article that tells you to do this or not do that. Everyone’s brain works a little differently, everyone has different circumstances they need to work within, and everyone has different goals and priorities for their learning, so naturally the same approach will not be best for everyone. I just hope that by sharing my own (successful) experience and method, readers will get some insight, ideas and options that they can apply to their own study. Okay, let’s get started…

The tools

The Learner’s Kanji Dictionary

I can’t emphasize enough how helpful this dictionary was in my quest to learn kanji. It has all the Joyo Kanji and name kanji, and a very good helping of non-official but still widely used kanji, including stroke order, old forms, and for each kanji it lists all common jukugo that contain it.

I used this dictionary probably several times a day for 2-3 years, as evidenced by the filth on the pages. Best $20 I ever spent.

A good notebook

A hard-cover notebook was really necessary since I ended up carrying these books around for literally years. A regular $1 notebook would not have survived. I also don’t think spiral-bound would have been able to do it either, the wire would have gotten all bent up eventually.

The notebooks I got were 96 sheets each, and I eventually filled 5 of them.

My notebooks

By the way, the duct tape you see on the binding was to attach a bookmark-ribbon to the spine so I could easily keep track of my page, not because the notebook was falling apart (these books are the toughest notebooks I have ever come across).

The method

Now, I’m a computer guy, but learning kanji had to be done in analog. Actually writing down the kanji with a pen and paper was really helpful for learning it (and remembering the stroke order), and this way I had a notebook that I easily just toss in my bag and take with me on a bus or to Starbucks. Plus, it was highly rewarding to have an actual physical sense of how much I had learned (and of course it was great for showing off to people!). I enjoyed being able to look at my books (which eventually numbered 5 altogether) and think “Wow, all of that is in my brain!”

My objective was essentially to transfer all the information contained in the Learner’s Kanji Dictionary into my brain. To do this, I literally transcribed nearly everything from the dictionary into my notebook and reviewed each word hundreds of times over.

If that sounds tedious, difficult, boring, repetitive and perhaps even emotionally scarring to you, well, you’re right, it was. Once, I even went on an all-day study rampage where I just transcribed kanji after kanji from the dictionary to my notebook from morning until late at night… and after 14 long hours I had filled 37 pages, had an unearthly headache and throbbing, trembling fingers that could no longer hold a pen.

The reason behind transcribing was twofold. First, the act of actually writing the kanji a few times is great for retention. Second, I needed to have all of this information streamlined for maximum reviewability, which was the key to the strategy. I suppose you could think of the process of kind of like snatching up every word one by one from dictionary and putting the little buggers into your head, and then using the notebook to take roll call every once in a while to make sure everyone is still where they’re supposed to be.

The page format

Here’s a sample page from the kanji dictionary and a scan of from my notes to show you how I formatted my notebook based on the information in the dictionary… (no laughing at the bad handwriting!)

The format for each line goes something like: A – B – C _________ D

A: The word in kanji form.

B: The word in hiragana (pronunciation).

C: The English translation/explanation.

D: The kanji form again in the right margin.

Pretty simple, right? One line for each word, information on the left and just kanji in the right margin. One line left blank between different kanji groups to make the pages easy to scan.

To review, I would simply go from page to page, top to bottom focusing on each word in the right margin in turn, recalling its meaning and pronunciation before moving on. If I couldn’t remember a word or its meaning, I would quickly check the information on the left.

Sometimes I would pretend to write the kanji on the tabletop or my leg or wherever just with my finger as I went through the list. I was pretty strict on myself, so if I forgot one word on a page I would keep going over the whole page before moving on. I made an effort to review a whole book every day, but especially once the notebook started to get past 40 pages or so I didn’t always have time.

For me (and I suspect for many others as well) 90% of learning is simply not forgetting. So the “secret” to my method (if you can call it that) was to make the act of reviewing as comprehensive, simple, easy, and quick as possible.

How did I choose which compounds to list?

This is important. I made a point to write ALL the jukugo for each kanji IF I knew the other character(s). If it was a compound with a character I hadn’t studied yet, I ignored it (the same word would come up again when I got to the unfamiliar kanji). By following this rule, I never had any duplicate words in your notebook, all the words I was learning were reinforcing previous kanji I had learned, I never confused myself by learning words with kanji that I didn’t yet know, and this way not a single jukugo gets left out.

How did I choose which kanji to learn next?

Of course it’s a good idea to focus on easier and more common kanji first, but since my ultimate goal was to learn ALL (useful) kanji, I was never picky about what kanji to study next. I’d flip to random pages in the dictionary to find kanji, scan jukugo lists, go through my textbook or some manga, look up kanji that I had seen somewhere else and wanted to know, whatever.

Very often I would be writing the jukugo for one kanji and find a word that I wanted to learn but which was using another kanji that I hadn’t studied yet, so kanji, in a way, introduced me to their friends as I was learning. (on the example notebook page above, you can see how I decided to learn 殊 after seeing it when I was going through the jukugo list for 更)

The only thing I was really picky about was filling each page, so I’d often start off with a common kanji that took up quite a few lines, and end with whatever kanji I found that could fit in the space that was left. The fish/sushi kanji, while for the most part non-Joyo, are particularly well suited to filling one or two extra lines at the bottom.

Anyway, if anyone wants to follow my example, start with any JLPT Level 4 kanji you don’t already know (check out my Japanese Cheat Sheet for a list), but after that there’s really no “wrong” order to learn kanji in, so just do whatever you want (as long as you don’t end up procrastinating all the harder and more boring kanji).

What did I do about writing?

Since my focus was on learning how to read moreso than to write, I really only added in a writing method as an afterthought. And actually my logic for including it at all was that if I could write it, then I was much more likely to never forget how to read it. Anyway, I’m glad I did include it, even if I have slacked off and forgotten how to write most of them…

I did this: after I had finished a book, I would type up a big long list of English cue words for all the kanji in the book, in the same order as the kanji in the book. I would then print the list and tape it securely to the back cover… take a look at the picture to see.

Cue words taped to the back cover

To practice writing, I would go one by one through the list of cue words and write the corresponding kanji on a piece of scrap paper. The only reason this worked, of course, was because I had already been reviewing the kanji in the same order for weeks or even months. Even with that preparation however, it was hard to recall which kanji I was supposed to write for each cue word, so I’d go column by column initially, looking back to cheat whenever I needed to. Usually it only took a day or two of practice before I could write out every kanji from the notebook in the correct order just from using the list of cue words. After that it was just a matter of keeping in practice so that I wouldn’t forget.

Unfortunately I don’t have any images of the old scrap papers that I wrote kanji on to show everyone, but when I went practicing kanji I would always come away with a half sheet of paper or so of just solid kanji. Anyone who saw me studying must have thought I was a madman!

I could have used both sides of the paper, but…

I only used the right-side pages, so theoretically I could have put two times more information in each notebook. But I didn’t do this for a few reasons…

It was much easier to just scan one side of the book as I flip through doing my review; no need to go back and forth. I know it seems like just a little tiny detail, but this made reviewing much easier on my eyes.

On the left-side page I would occasionally put random interesting sentences or other word collections that I wanted to remember (Japanese isn’t all about kanji, you know)

Leaving breathing room, even if it was on the opposite page from the one I was reading, really made everything feel less cramped.

There’s no way I could have fit twice as many cue words on a sheet of paper for the writing review.

I wanted each page to be nice and clean, with no ink seeping through from the other side.

Going through pages faster makes it feel like your studies are progressing faster! Yeah, it’s a mind trick but who cares if it can keep you motivated.

Final thoughts

Learning kanji is a truly massive undertaking that cannot be accomplished without a very strong will and long term dedication. I may not have met those requirements when I started, but I did by the time I was finished.

My study of kanji was the first and perhaps only thing in my life so far that I’ve really put my heart completely into. At times, I questioned if it would ever end and if it was really worth it, but always somehow found the strength to press on. In the end, not only was it the most challenging project I’ve ever approached, but it was the most rewarding as well.

Other study methods

I’d like to complete this article with a list of links to other kanji study method articles around the internet, so if anyone knows of any, please drop me a line!

I disagree, my friend, there was one thing you put your heart and soul into that I can think of… Final Fantasy VIII. Remember how much time you spent playing that game? You even wrote a massive paper about it for school =P

I didn’t realize people still rote memorized kanji since the Heisig method has gained popularity. I’ve been studying Japanese a total of 16-17 months, and thanks to the method I can write roughly 2300 characters and read 1800 (based on my flashcard software’s kanji statistics).

But @Joe, the fact that you can write more characters than you can read seems very unusual to me.

I have to question how well the Heisig method teaches you jukugo. Learning the writing and reading for a kanji is pretty easy, it’s learning how the kanji is used and combined with other kanji that takes much more time and effort.

I’ve only done book 1 of Heisig so I can’t speak of what exactly book 2 teaches, but book 1 only teaches you meaning (i.e., you see 本 and learn it means “book”). The idea isn’t to teach you the kanji entirely, but rather to put you on more equal footing with Chinese and some other Asians who come to the table already knowing the meaning of most kanji. And in so far as teaching meaning only, it works brilliantly. Most people who complete the book not only learn the meaning but also master writing them.

I believe book 2 goes back thru everything you learned in book 1 and then teaches pronunciation, but again, I’m not sure as I haven’t done it. After finishing book 1, I decided to learn readings in context so I chose a different path.

I don’t see the point in just learning the meaning and the way to write them. I learned all the ones I know with their readings because I want to be able to pronounce the compounds, rather than just go “oh, that means x”.

One thing I don’t see, does the Heisig method address the issue that sometimes, the Kanji in the compounds don’t make a whole lot of sense?

I like how you are studying your Kanji. I am using a fairly simular method but concentrating on 10 kanji per week using all the compounds I think are useful. My method fits quite snug in a short-hand notebook page using one line for the Kanji, meaning and all the on-yomi and kun-yomi, then the second line with compounds and Okurigana WITHOUT Furigana or meanings. Then I practice with sentences and write the compounds again and again saying (outloud) the reading (about 10-20 times depending on the less obvious radicals). The repetition is for the stroke and compound order, the sentences are for ‘placing the kanji into a situation’. On the 7th day, I review the list and make an extra 10. The list forces you to remember both the meaning and reading. If you are tempted to cheat, hide your other notes and write the kanji you are still unfamilar with and re-learn them. You can increase the number of Kanji per week but I work full-time and so this suits me…for now. I can quite happily say I know 300+ Kanji.

@Bryan: Good job, sticking with it is the real key, more than what particular method you do.

I had the furigana and meanings in my notebook, but cheating was never a problem. The information was right there if I wanted it, but it never “tempted” me. After all, what’s the point of cheating with yourself? I also never “accidentally” saw any of the answers: you’d be surprised how small your field of vision really is for reading.

I really like the spaced repitition method that’s big in flashcard programs now like Anki (free online and lots of public Japanese decks). The one I’ve been using recently is from OrangeorApple.com and is an iTouch app called Flashcards Deluxe. It doesn’t have as big of a public library of decks as Anki yet, but it is more flexible, and I’m adding my own decks as I make bazillions of flashcards. Still, my writing suffers w/ only flashcards, and I think I’m going to try the approach from here as well.

Hi! your blog is great and very helpful. Im studying kanji aswell for i will (hopefully) make it to japan to work as a KANGO, However it really frustrates me on what and how to begin. I want to study basic kanji first but we are advised to study medical and nursing kanji terms for our pending interview. so thats my dilemma. Anyway Thanks for sharing your tips really helpful thanks”!!! Justin from Philippines domo arigatou gozaimashita!!!

i started learning japanese about a month (or 2) ago, im in highschool and i hope to go to a college to and study the japanese language in formal classes but for now im learning japanese on my own (itsa passion) and i am doing the same thing ! except with japanese in general, kana, kanji, grammer, vocab ect, i guess scince i dont have a textbook i kinda started making my own to look back to (although i do have audio tapes, many books and the internet as resorces in my learning)

i was surprised to see that someone else did the same thing- and i agree it is fun to see a look on a friends face when they see some words written in hiragana and say “you can READ this ?” and i LOVE looking through it and thinking i know all of this !

“I have to question how well the Heisig method teaches you jukugo. Learning the writing and reading for a kanji is pretty easy, it’s learning how the kanji is used and combined with other kanji that takes much more time and effort.”

I think the brilliance of the method is that it splits the work into halves this way. Neither piece, alone, seems hard at all to me.

I went through Heisig volume 1 in 2 months. Now I can pick up any comic book, or turn on Japanese subtitles in any Japanese movie, and understand what’s going on.

True, I didn’t learn the pronunciation of “我” in those 2 months. But you only have to see and hear “我々” a couple times to know what it means.

True, there are exceptions, and there are a few words made up of kanji that you wouldn’t be able to guess from just knowing the meaning of the individual kanji. There are exceptions in pronunciation and meaning of English words, too. I just learn them as needed. I’ve never felt the need to copy an English dictionary to learn English.

If you want to learn how kanji are used in context, it’s hard to beat “just pick up a newspaper”.

that’s really fantastic way for learning kanji
i figured it out my self but a little different from you but the idea of writing and reviewing that’s the method that works for me , thanks a lot for the extra tips it was really helpful

@Alfonse
I find that very funny about the English dictionary thing. As I recall, most of my School education was learning definitions. If I didn’t use the dictionary, someone told me what it meant.
I’m a natural born American citizen and I know more about English than the average person. Mostly, from reading books, talking to people, and looking in the dictionary. School books have glossaries in the back and such… So, if you think about it, you probably did more defining than you think. I even learned about the fundamental differences between British and American English, when I was 4 yrs. of age.
Everything one learns, is by that of heart. With S.R.S. applications such as, Anki and others… I can space out a little of my reviewing. I’ve decided to learn 3 漢字 a day, sometimes more. Learn the vocab that associates with it, too. It seems a waste to use “Remembering the Kanji” when one isn’t “remembering” anything at all. One shouldn’t have to pay money on a book that teaches ideas on mnemonics… as that comes naturally when studying. -duh
I’d rather be listening to music or watching T.V. than reading that book.

Well, all in all, no harm done. Just that, some different approaches, “supposedly”, help some people.

*Note: If you don’t know it by heart, then you are only familiar with it. One needs to have information memorized before they can apply reasoning. This is totally lacking in the Western Education system, presently. Think of it this way,

“It’s ever so better to carve a sculpture, rather than ponder on how it was carved. But, in the end result one still has to carve to find out how it was done.”

if you’re still even watching this, how did you do the kanji with multiple readings, like 立? because it seems to always take almost all the way across an a4 sheet to write the ones with more readings down

Yeeap A notebook, a pencil and the internet is what I’m currently using. I’ve based what kanjis to learn based on their level; N5,N4…
Then on a seprate sheet I copy both the On and Kun readings and then write the kanjis on my own. The kun readings are fairly easy to remember but with the on I’ve basically dependend on the compund words in w/c they’ll be use instead on their individual readins. I seriously do not know if that is right -_- hahahaha

I find that being part-chinese really makes learning Kanji easier, in addition to growing up learning it, because even though the usage of many are quite different between the two languages, by the time you’re in 9th grade, you’ve learned how to write most of the common ones and then some. It’s really different reading about people learning things I learned in fourth grade… (coughcough義coughcough)

I liked your method, but i don’t agree with the part of ignoring jukugo with kanjis that you don’t know, i think jukugo is a good way to learn the kanji’s on read, so i write every jukugo and learn only the whole read, then if i learn the other kanji, is more easy to remember both on read.
Besides, i think is better to write again the jukugo

After I read this I just had a boost of confidence and I want to get back to studying again! Right now im going easy and learning the first grade kanjis to get familiar with it. This might be a little to late but if anyone can help me that would be really helpful.

My question is how do you deal with the Kunyomi and Onyomi? Do i have to worry about those? Im having a hard time figuring out which kunyomi or Onyomi i should say (what i meant is theres usually more than one way to say the Kunyomi and Onyomi)

The study page from your notebook looks like it only has one voicing for the word you learned. Did you not learn the On and Kun readings, or did you learn them at a later time? How would you suggest learning the multiple readings, as some Kanji have quite a few?